Concentric, eccentric by Felice Varini

I was very happy to finally make it to Carcassonne last week. It has been on my list since reading Kate Mosse’s Labyrinth over a decade ago. As we got our first glimpse of the spectacular citadel, we noticed something a bit odd! Gaudy yellow stripes streaked across the city walls and towers.

We later discovered that this was part of an art installation by French-Swiss artist Felice Varini. It has been installed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Carcassonne’s inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

However it wasn’t until a few days later that we stumbled upon the angle from which the artwork is supposed to be viewed. We entered the city via the Narbonne gate, where none of the artwork is visible. And so it wasn’t until we were on our way back to the modern city via the Aude gate that we had the full experience.

It’s awesome to stand on the spot where the circles align and the whole thing comes together. A fantastic fusion of modern meets ancient. It’s a really spectacular installation and although it has upset some locals, I can’t see how many tourists would be upset by it.